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Extended Portis sighting

“I’m all for [the Coen brothers’ True Grit remake] as long as the checks don’t bounce.” The crowd-and-photo-averse Charles Portis accepts Oxford American award.

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The Hutaree: like an outtake from Left Behind game

In my latest column at The Awl, I consider whether the End-Times-obsessed Hutaree milita is likely to be an anomaly in the current climate. It’s hard to know how worked up to get about the Hutaree, the Antichrist-obsessed militia group arrested by the FBI over the weekend for allegedly plotting to kill a police officer, blow up members of law . . .

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On the viability of book covers in an ebook world

A couple months ago I saw a girl press onto the subway, give the boy next to her a once-over, and casually tilt her iPhone — accidentally on purpose — so he could see what she was listening to. After a couple tries, it worked. By the time we reached Jay Street, they were talking about music. As I told . . .

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Day in the Life: Hynes’ reading list for Next

My friend James Hynes’ Next is a departure from his prior novels in many ways, not least in that the action is set in a single day. Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Tod Goldberg says the book, is “wildly inventive, stunning… an essential piece of American literature that is both of its time and ultimately without present compare.” Michael . . .

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